


Teenage Dirtbag

by RegretfullyRegretful



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Awkward Crush, Crushes, Fluff, High School, M/M, Nico di Angelo & Piper McLean Friendship, Nico di Angelo is Bad at Feelings, Nico di Angelo is a Cute Dork, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace Fluff, Piper McLean is a Good Friend, Prom, Slow Dancing, Songfic, Will Solace is a Ball of Sunshine, Will Solace is a Dork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27591716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RegretfullyRegretful/pseuds/RegretfullyRegretful
Summary: “Whatever you say, lover boy,” Piper sighed, shutting her locker as well.Nico groaned, “Oh my god, Piper. It’s nothing.”“Why don’t you just talk to him?” she asked.“There’s nothing to say. And even if there was, he doesn’t even know who I am,” he sighed.-------Or, Nico is crushing on Will. Based on the song Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 5
Kudos: 145





	Teenage Dirtbag

Nico slammed his locker shut, clutching his books to his chest as he turned to face Piper. She was talking animatedly but he barely registered anything she said. His eyes were fixed over her shoulder, locked on a mop of blond curls. The blond was leaning against his own locker, gripping the straps of his backpack as he chatted with his friends. He was wearing blue jeans, a yellow sweater, and keds. He had the sweater sleeves pulled over his palms and he was laughing, flashing white teeth and a glimpse of blue eyes. It made Nico’s heart feel like it was going to beat out of his chest.

He was pulled from his trance as Piper raised her voice. “Hey!” she said, her eyes flashing with amusement, “Earth to Nico.”

He looked at her, trying to keep his face neutral, “What?”

“You weren’t listening to me at all, were you?” she asked.

He straightened his back, huffing indignantly, “Yes I was.”

“Oh really?” she raised her eyebrows, “What did I just say?”

“Um,” he paused, “Something about Jason’s football game?”

She laughed, “Not quite. My history project actually, but I’ll give you a pass. What were you so distracted by? Or should I say  _ who _ ?”

Nico’s face flushed bright red, “Shut up!”

“Will Solace got you flustered?” she teased. 

“No!” he shouted. He looked around nervously, lowering his voice. “No,” he repeated quieter, “I just spaced out.”

“Whatever you say, lover boy,” Piper sighed, shutting her locker as well. 

Nico groaned, “Oh my god, Piper. It’s nothing.”

“Why don’t you just talk to him?” she asked.

“There’s nothing to say. And even if there was, he doesn’t even know who I am,” he sighed.

“I think you’d be surprised, Nico,” Piper told him.

Any response he may have come up with was cut off as the bell rang. Piper smiled widely at Nico and winked, turning on her toes and walking down the hallway. As she walked by Will she waved and said, “Hey, Solace. We were just talking about you.”

Will turned to look at Nico, his cheeks red and smiling widely. Nico’s stomach erupted in butterflies as he gaped. They locked eyes for a moment but Nico couldn’t muster enough courage to smile back, instead he looked at the ground and pushed off from his locker, scurrying in the opposite direction of Will and his stupid smile and stupid blue eyes and stupid blond hair. 

His face was burning still as he walked into his first period and it was only as he shoved his stuff into his gym locker that he remembered that Will was blushing too. 

\------

Their lunch table was always chaotic. Nico pushed food around on his plate as he focused on pieces of the conversations around him. He wasn’t particularly hungry, his stomach still in knots from the morning. His mind kept wandering off and remembering the flush of Will’s face and the way he smiled at him, like Nico was something to smile about. He could feel his face start to turn red so he shoved a spoonful of cafeteria mashed potatoes in his mouth. Percy called his name and he glanced up, chewing carefully.

Percy was grinning at him, his eyes shining, “I heard about your boyfriend this morning.”

Nico froze, his eyes widening and face burning. He chewed again and swallowed slowly, trying to think of something to say. After an awkward silence he just blinked and decided to feign ignorance. “What?” he asked.

“Your staring contest in the hallway with blondie?” Percy clarified.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nico said carefully, setting his fork down and straightening his back. 

“Come on, Neeks. You’ve been making goo-goo eyes at Will Solace for years now. Why don’t you just say something to him?” Percy teased.

“Like I said to Piper this morning,” he gave her a heated glare, “There’s nothing to say and I’m not even on his radar.”

“From what Pipes told us about this morning, you totally are,” Jason told him.

Nico frowned, “Just drop it, guys. Even if he does give a damn about me, which he _ doesn’t _ , it’s not like I’m even in his league. He’s,” he huffed in exasperation, “Mr. Future Doctor. He’s smart and funny and smiley and just  _ perfect _ . I’m just, not  _ that _ . I’m grumpy and I listen to Iron Maiden and I suck at Biology. He’s Will Solace and I’m just a teenage dirtbag.”

Jason was watching him with that look in his eyes that made Nico want to curl up. He hated when Jason got all,  _ Dad-ish _ , it made him feel like he was a child. He rolled his eyes, “Don’t look at me like that, Jason.”

“Nico,” Piper said, her eyes soft as she leaned forward, “Did you ever think that maybe Will likes that about you? And if you suck so much at bio, why did you take AP Biology?”

Nico looked at the table, heat creeping up his cheeks. Piper sat back and smirked. “Oh,” she said, “Will is in AP Bio, isn’t he?”

Nico huffed, grumbling as he glanced up slightly. Percy was grinning widely and Jason had a small smile on his face. The rest of their friends at the table were also eyeing him. Annabeth was watching him carefully, her face neutral as her eyes flitted across his face and tensed shoulders. 

“You know, Nico,” Annabeth said gently, “He isn’t out of your league. And I bet he likes you too, you just have to take a chance.”

“Thanks, Annabeth,” Nico said, “But it doesn’t really matter.”

Nico looked back at the table, picking up his fork and pushing the food around on his plate again. Nobody said anything else to him, the conversation resuming hesitantly. He didn’t bother trying to listen anymore, resigning to just spacing out for the rest of the period. His ears perked up though as a laugh rang out in the cafeteria. He glanced over his shoulder, immediately finding Will’s smiling face in the crowd. Their eyes met for the second time that day and Will seemed to smile a little wider at him. Nico managed a small smile back and he turned back forward. He had to bite his cheek to keep from grinning widely. ‘ _ Maybe’  _ he thought,  _ ‘Maybe he does know who I am. Maybe I should talk to him.’ _

\-------

It took weeks for Nico to work up the courage to decide to talk to Will. He was standing at his locker, fidgeting on his feet and glancing anxiously over at Will. The blond was grabbing books from his locker and putting them into his backpack. His friends weren’t there this morning and Nico silently sent out a thanks, grateful he wouldn’t have an audience while he stuttered through the words he had spent hours rehearsing to himself in the mirror. 

He shut his locker door and took a deep breath, a white knuckle grip on the books he was holding. He turned, ready to walk up to Will and actually  _ talk _ to him. His heart was racing and his knees felt weak but there was an unexplainable giddiness in his chest. He took one step forward and froze, his stomach dropping as he watched another boy walk up to Will. Nico recognized him, Paolo Montes. He was tall and tan and looked like he could kick Nico’s ass if he wanted to. Will shut his locker and turned to face Paolo, smiling brightly. The two were standing close and Paolo reached out, brushing his hand along Will’s arm gently. The blond threw his head back in laughter at something the other said. 

Nico’s eyes were burning and he felt nauseous. He turned on his toes in an instant, rushing down the hallway. He brushed past Piper and Jason in his attempt to flee and they called out to him but he ignored them. He kept his head forward, not seeing how Will craned his head down the hallway to spot him when he heard his name. 

\------

It was prom night and Nico was sitting at a table in the back corner of the school gym. He was in a bad mood, his suit was uncomfortable, it was sweaty and loud in the gym, and he was alone. He didn’t want to be so annoyed at his friends for going and enjoying the dance but he couldn’t help it. He hadn’t wanted to come but they dragged him there anyway and then abandoned him. Percy and Jason showed up at his front door with a suit in his size in hand and Hazel shoved him out the door when he dragged his feet as they tried to leave. 

His friends were in the middle of the gym dancing and his heart twisted slightly. He sat up in his chair, reaching forward for the cup of punch he had been handed earlier but not drinking it. He just wanted something to do with his hands, some way to fidget. He swirled the cup, watching the punch slosh up the sides. He absentmindedly remembered Leo joking about spiking it earlier that week but he clearly hadn’t succeeded. It was just red kool-aid, all sugar and red food dye. Nico didn’t drink but maybe being tipsy would make the whole experience less painfully lonely and embarrassing. He glanced up as Piper walked up to him, stopping right in front of him and holding out her hand. “Dance with me?” she asked. 

Nico cocked his head but put his cup down, standing up from his chair. He grabbed her hand and she tugged him towards the dance floor. Nico didn’t know the song that was playing, it was something slower. They made it into the crowd and Nico placed one hand on her waist, the other still holding hers as they began to step and sway slowly with the music. Piper was slightly shorter than him, not by much, but just enough that he had to look down slightly to meet her eyes. They didn’t say anything for a while, just dancing slowly. She leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder.

“You’re pretty cool, Nico,” Piper whispered.

Nico snorted, “Thanks.”

“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself all the time.”

“I’m not.”

She paused for a moment and leaned back, “You know, Will came here without a date tonight.”

He resented the butterflies that immediately filled his stomach. He gripped her hand slightly tighter for a moment. “Oh?” he asked, his voice weak. 

She smirked at him, “Yup. He looked pretty sharp in his suit, too.”

“That’s nice,” he said. 

“You gonna do anything about it?” she asked, cocking her head and raising her eyebrows. 

The last notes of the song faded out and Nico cleared his throat, pulling away from Piper. “Thanks for the invite,” he said, pushing his way out of the crowd.

He walked quickly over to the snack table, hoping to catch his breath. His face felt warm and he grabbed a pretzel, shoving it in his mouth. He heard somebody walk up beside him but he chose to ignore them in favor of grabbing more pretzels. 

“Hey, Nico?” they asked.

Nico looked over at them and choked. Will Solace was standing beside him, his blue eyes watching him nervously. 

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Will asked, reaching a hand out and patting his back slightly.

It just made Nico choke harder and he stepped back from the table, taking a gasping breath.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Will asked. 

Nico shook his head, his throat finally clearing. He breathed shakily and Will just stared at him. “Um, hi,” Nico said, his voice cracking slightly.

Will’s face broke out in a grin and Nico thought he was going to die because of the way his heart pounded when the blond looked at him like that. “Hi,” Will said happily, “You alright?”

“Yeah,” Nico blushed, “Just got a little, uh, surprised.”

“Oh, sorry,” Will said, “Didn’t mean to spook you.”

“No!” Nico said a little too loudly. He blushed, “I mean, _ no _ ,” he repeated quieter, “It’s okay. You didn’t do anything.”

“Good,” Will shifted on his feet and shoved a hand in his jacket pocket, “That’s good.”

They were both silent for a moment, watching each other. “So?” Nico asked hesitantly.

“Oh!” Will jumped, “Oh yeah! So uh, Nico,” he paused.

Nico raised his eyebrows and hummed a question, biting his cheek to keep from doing something stupid like grinning at the way Will said his name. Will raised an arm and scratched the back of his head, “Um, we’re in AP Bio together.”

“I know,” Nico said softly.

“Right, of course you do. I’ve, uh, seen you around for a while now. And um, I talked to Piper,” Will stuttered out.

“About,” Nico inhaled, “Me?”

“Um, yes. That sounds so creepy, oh god. But,” he pulled something from his pocket, “She told me about a band you like? And, uh, I got two tickets to Iron Maiden. Come with me Friday, don’t say maybe. I’m just a teenage dirtbag, like you.”

Nico was frozen for most of Will’s speech, his eyes wide and face bright red but he huffed in annoyance at the end. “She told you about that?” he groaned.

Will smiled widely and bounced on the balls of his feet, “Yeah,” he laughed, “She did.”

“Traitor,” Nico seethed. 

“So is that a yes?” Will asked, his face hopeful.

“Yes!” Nico shouted, “Of course!”

“Awesome!” Will grinned, “It’s a date!”

Nico thought he was going to keel over and die. His heart was bursting and he briefly contemplated jumping in joy. Instead, he just smiled, “Yeah,” he said quietly, “A date.”

They watched each other again nervously. Will took a step toward him, “So, um, do you want to dance?”

Nico looked up at him, studying the way his lips curled into his smile and the way his blue eyes caught the dim lighting of the gym. “Yeah, I’d love to.”


End file.
